I needed to make a quick dessert for a cookout gathering we had with our church and found a new recipe to try: Blonde Cheesecake Brownies (also known as Bayou Brownies from New Orleans). Simple and sinfully delicious.

Only Six Ingredients:

1 cup of chopped pecans

1/2 cup (one stick) butter, melted

3 large eggs (o.k., that’s really three but it is one category!)

1 package of Classic Butter Yellow Cake Mix (unprepared)

1 8 oz. package of cream cheese

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Only Ten Easy Steps:

Preheat oven to 325. (This really shouldn’t count as a step, but you gotta do it!)

THIS IS THE HARDEST STEP: Let it COMPLETELY cool in the pan on a wire rack before cutting and eating.

I cut this into 48 small bites because it is so rich. So delicious. Do you think this looks easy? Try it and let me know how it turned out for you. Did you serve it for a special occasion or just a quiet family dinner? (for a variety, I think I’ll try a chocolate cake mix, what do you think?)

So, you’ve got to cut onions and saute’ them for your sauce. Which weapon do you favor? Tell me why in the comments. Is your choice based on ease of clean-up or efficiency of chopping or some other reason?

Open the rolls and separate them. In the widest part of the triangle, place a slice of pepperoni. On top of that put a small square of Velveeta cheese and top that with a small spoonful of the marinara sauce. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on top.

Starting from the wide end of the triangle, begin rolling up the dough, pinching the edges together, then continuing until the stuffing is covered and nicely tucked away.

Place on greased (I use cooking spray) cookie sheet evenly spaced.

Bake for about 14 minutes or until toasty and brown.

Best when fresh out of the oven but can be reheat in the microwave.

See how yummy this looks. The cheese is nicely melted, the sauce and pepperoni make it taste just like a pizza.

I guess you’ve got the idea that you can put anything inside these crescent rolls and have a tasty dish!

As a serving suggestion, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top of the warm pizza pocket.

What would you find in your refrigerator to fill this pastry? Oooo, go check and report back. Better yet, make it and take pictures and post here to share with the world!

(When I say “the world,” I mean it. This blog post is seen in many different countries. Go ahead and check in with your country name in the comments.)

What a day for surprises!

My first surprise.

My second surprise:

A carton of duck eggs delivered just when I was thinking of making chocolate chip cookies. Hannah, a basketball team player came over for a ride to practice and brought the fresh free range gift.

Hannah’s surprise:

We (my daughter and another player) acted as though we had no idea she was turning 15 on that day. We “spontaneously” declared the cookies made were for her special day and we sang happy birthday. Her surprise came at basketball where she was given a surprise birthday party by her team which included awesome panda bear cupcakes.

In a large bowl, cream sugars, butter and Crisco. Add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to creamed mixture. Blend well. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. (Make them tiny for tea or giant for sugar-overload!)

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are brown.

My daughter’s surprise:

She loved the cookies and THEN found out they were made with the duck eggs she had declared she wouldn’t eat.

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Again and again, I have been blessed with gifts of food and the kitchen challenge begins. With more onions than I could put on a sandwich or dice for spaghetti sauce, I decided to make French onion soup.

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Some of you may know of the Frango from my cafe or my cookbook, A Dollop and A Pinch: Recipes and Stories from The Baron York. Frango is Portuguese for chicken and I had fashioned a dish after my favorite Brazilian treat. The original filling had many delicious ingredients with the chicken. But, the other day when a meal was needed, those things were not on hand so A New Frango was recreated. It was very well received.

Ingredients:

shredded, baked chicken

Alfredo sauce

Parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

cream cheese

crescent rolls (refrigerator tube, not baked)

Mix the first four ingredients. Open the rolls and separate. Lay out a triangle of dough and place a dollop of the cream cheese in the widest part of the roll. Top the cream cheese with a generous portion of the chicken mix. Roll up the roll from the large end, pinching the sides, toward the small end.

Spray a cookie sheet or grease it and place rolled up chicken pastries on the sheet with generous space between them. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

What would you do if the world gave you limes?

Again, I have been on the receiving end of free food. This time I have limes, a number of them. I don’t use them as a main ingredient but as garnish. Seems a waste to have so many and not do something special with them. What would you do?

Please leave your suggestions and, if you have it, a recipe. I might even be able to do more than one recipe, who knows!!!

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Occasionally I am on the receiving end of free food. Today I received two whole chickens.

What does a homeschooling mom do with whole chickens? Why, have impromptu biology class, of course. Neither of the girls had ever cut up a chicken or even seen it done. I demonstrated the process, even cutting out the wish bone, and included an inspection of the heart and de-boning and skinning the breast. They were “grossed out!” and determined to wait a while before eating chicken and went back to other studies.

Now what do I do with the cut up chicken and the second whole chicken? The meaty pieces were made into a casserole, the bony parts were used to make a soup broth (tomorrow’s post).

Casserole time.

When you don’t know what to prepare, throw what ever you can find into a dish and bake it! The result this time was Chicken and Rice with Pineapple Sauce (inspired by the can of chunk pineapple that stared at me when I opened the cupboard). I used the big, meaty pieces from the chickens.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter

2 cups raw rice

4 cups water

1 tablespoon powdered chicken bouillon

cut up chicken

1 can pineapple chunks

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup prepared mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Dissolve the bouillon in the water. Brown the rice in the butter in a range-proof dish, then add the water. Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice and water. In a blender (I used my favorite Vita-Mixer), combine the pineapple chunks and juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and mustard. Mix to blend but not liquefy the fruit. Then pour the sauce over the chicken and rice. Cover with aluminum foil and bake four about an hour. Check to see if it is done by cutting a thick piece of chicken. The rice will be done in less time but can continue cooking with the chicken.